Jay Z: My Dad Scarred Me for Life

It's good to be king. Jay-Z has had a royally awesome year. Between the success of his latest album with Kanye West, to his wife Beyonce carrying one of the most anticipated babies of the decade, Jay has it made.

And now, GQ magazine has listed him has one of their "Men of the Year." Not hottest man, not coolest man, just best. Best man of 2011. Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon and Michael Fassbender also made the list. But let's face it, this is really about Jay-Z.

Things weren't always so hot for the Watch The Throne rapper. As a kid, Jay-Z's father abandoned his family suddenly, something that has affected Jay his whole life.

“If your dad died before you were born, yeah, it hurts—but it’s not like you had a connection with something that was real,” Jay told GQ. “Not to say it’s any better—but to have that connection and then have it ripped away was, like, the worst. My dad was such a good dad that when he left, he left a huge scar. He was my superhero.”

As time went on, Jay-Z discussed the ordeal with his father:

“[I talked about] what it did to me, what it meant, asked him why. There was no real answer. There was nothing he could say, because there’s no excuse for that. There really isn’t. So there was nothing he could say to satisfy me, except to hear me out. And it was up to me to forgive and let it go.”

So I guess it's safe to say Jay-Z plans on being a more hands-on father. When the mag asked if he planned on putting a car seat in his Maybach, Jay-Z smiled:

"Yeah. Wouldn’t that be great? That would be a great picture."

But when it comes to the couple's unique announcement at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Jay says it was all Lady B:

“It was actually Bey who wanted to [announce] it,” Jay says. “You want to be in control of your life.”

Jay-Z's friend and collaborator, Kanye West, is rumored to be the godfather of the couple's child. And Kanye West has mostly started those rumors. When the two worked on Watch The Throne, Jay says there was a lot of laughing and a lot of wine drinking. They only argued "about what's best for the song," Jay says. "Which is great."

"I think he just can't help himself," Jay says. "He puts so much into everything, and he's like, 'You have to treat it like I treat it.' It drives you crazy sometimes—like when you've put seventy-five versions of a snare on one song and he's like, 'No!' and you're like, 'Come on, man.' "